Esks hit the road
By GERRY MODDEJONGE, QMI Agency
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EDMONTON - There is no place like home.
But the Edmonton Eskimos will have to wait over a week to get back to the friendly confines of Commonwealth Stadium as they set to kick off their longest road stint of the season
The team leaves bright and early Thursday for Winnipeg, where they will remain following Friday’s game against the Blue Bombers before continuing on to Montreal to take on the Alouettes Aug. 11.
“I’m not looking forward to it at all, actually,” said Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed. “Home has been good for us and the consistency of being home and also travelling and the results that we have been able to produce so far, we are cautiously optimistic that we can go on the road and have some success.
“Whenever you have a long road trip and guys get out of their routine, it can go the other way.”
Except that, so far, the Eskimos have made winning routine with a 2-0 road record and 3-0 at home. Their first stop pits them against an East Division-leading Winnipeg squad whose sole loss came at home in Canad Inns Stadium.
“Two very good football teams playing each other and we’re going to be playing in a very tough environment,” said Reed. “But I don’t know if it’s a clash of the titans. It’s two very good football teams who are finding their groove at this time.
“When you look at it overall, all three phases match up very well and I think we’re going in with a bit of a disadvantage in the fact that Winnipeg’s at home,” said Reed, who lost a close friend in Blue Bombers defensive co-ordinator Richard Harris, who died from a heart attack last week. “I’s going to be an emotionally charged environment with what has just recently happened there.”
